


The Blind Date

by ChocolateCapCookie



Series: Cookie's Stocking Fills [11]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bearded Steve Rogers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, Post-Break Up, References to Tony's alcoholism, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29017935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateCapCookie/pseuds/ChocolateCapCookie
Summary: Tony's been miserable since the breakup with Steve, so Pepper and Rhodey decide it's time for him to date again, and they sign him up to a blind date service. The guy matched with him seems perfect on paper, and Tony is maybe finally excited about life again. He's going to go out, start dating, and never think of Steve again.If only life worked that way.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Cookie's Stocking Fills [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161581
Comments: 7
Kudos: 114
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	The Blind Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvengersNewB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersNewB/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [AvengersNewB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersNewB/pseuds/AvengersNewB) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



Pepper sighed for what seemed like the fiftieth time that hour. “You can look as good as we can make you, Tony, but you gotta at least smell a little bit like you didn’t just walk out of a brewery!”

“And _I’m_ telling you I’m not wearing that stupid thing, so get it the fuck away from me.” Pepper sighed. Again.

“Tony,” she said gently “Look, I know the smell reminds you of Steve—”

“That’s a fuckin’ _lie_ , Potts.”

“—but I can’t keep telling you to get over him, Tony.” She placed her hands on her hips, exasperated. “Wasn’t this the whole point of today?” Tony had the grace to look a little ashamed of himself. He really did feel like a dick for putting Pepper and Rhodey through all of this, especially when they’d tried so hard to get him this date, and with how happy they’d seemed when he agreed to it.

It was just… they didn’t understand. How could they? They were in happy, committed relationships, with happy, committed significant others. They could sympathize with him, give him a shoulder to cry on, maybe, but they could never understand.

It just _hurt_ all the time, a little less now, but at times like this, the hurt just came back, crashing over him like a wave. As much as he’d tried to deny it, Pepper was right in why he’d refused to wear that specific perfume: it reminded too much of Steve.

 _No. Bad Tony. Do not think about Steve right now when you’re about to go on a date with another man_.

“How am I a billionaire but I only have one bottle of perfume in this entire goddamn tower?” he mumbled, clutching the bottle tightly. “Fine.” He held his breath as Pepper sprayed it on strategic areas of his body, looking down to avoid their pitying glances.

“Stop looking at me like that, I get it,” he said. “We broke up, it was mutual, and you don’t need to worry about it.”

Rhodey snorted. “After we watched you almost kill yourself, I think we’ve earned the right to worry about you,” he said, firm but kind. “Just… let go of Steve for one night, okay? See if you can’t make this work out. This guy sounds like he’d be perfect for you.”

“I don’t trust what people put on their dating profiles,” said Tony dryly. He had to admit though, that this date seemed impressively well-qualified, so much so that Tony was pretty sure at least part of it was made up. Tony didn’t know any names, as the dating website’s rules stated, but ManWithAPlan was a military veteran, with a strong liking for both art and injured animals. He described himself as “tall and blonde”, exactly Tony’s preference, and even made it a point to state that he didn’t want children. That was the most important part of it all for Tony, given that… well… 

He didn’t want to think about it right now.

“You look amazing, Tony,” said Pepper warmly, standing back and admiring her work critically. “If you don’t go home with this guy tonight, I’ll eat my hat.”

“Thanks, Pep,” said Tony, standing up to hug her. He hugged Rhodey too, feeling slightly emotional. The last time they’d dressed him up for a date had been on his first date with…well…

He still didn’t want to think about it.

_“This was probably something we should’ve discussed a year in, huh?” Steve winced, and Tony somehow knew at that point the evening wasn’t going to end well for either of them._

_“I thought I made it clear how much I loved kids,” Steve continued, sounding so broken and sad that Tony held his hand on instinct. “I thought… you said that’s why you love… you loved me.”_

_“I still love you,” Tony rushed to say. “I’d never stop. And I love how wonderful you are with kids, Steve, I do. I just — I didn’t think that would one day translate to having our own.”_

_“I can’t… I really do want kids, Tony,” said Steve, almost crying, “I love them. But_ — _” he paused and took a deep breath “_ — _I don’t need them. I can live without_ — _I can live without kids but I don’t think I could live without you.”_

_And it was then that Tony knew, neither of them would be going home happy tonight._

_“No, Steve,” he said quietly, clasping Steve’s hands in his. “You can’t do that. You’re not giving up one of the few dreams you have for me.”_

_“It’s not giving up if I get to keep you.”_

_“And what about when this is all over? When we’re retired and out of the honeymoon stage? You’re going to regret this, you’re going to hate me for not giving you kids, and we’ll end up bitter and divorced.”_

_“You don’t know that.”_

_“And you don’t know we won’t,” said Tony bitterly. “And who’s the genius in this relationship, huh?”_

_Steve had laughed wetly at that, but the smile slid off his face too quickly for Tony to feel any pleasure in having put it there. “I don’t… I don’t think this is worth losing you over, Tony.”_

_“And I don’t think I’m worth you being miserable for the rest of your life.” Tony stood up and placed a couple of bills on the table, grateful that he’d driven himself here. “See you around, Steve.”_

_The last thing he saw as he left was Steve still seated there, shocked and with tears streaming down his face._

_Tony had left and never looked back._

Now, Tony couldn’t help noting the irony of having his first real date after having his heart broken… in the same place that he’d had his heart broken, down to the very same table and waitress. Tony had switched sides, not wanting to have to deal with all of those memories once more.

They had broken up, and it was Tony’s doing. He couldn’t sit here and mope about it, not anymore, and definitely not when he was about to go on a date with someone else.

Tony forced himself to push Steve out of his mind, instead fantasizing about what his date would look like. They’d spoken for a bit on the dating app, but the app itself encouraged in-person meetings more than online interaction, and Tony knew very little about this guy, except that he was new and exciting.

Hopefully, he’d be new and exciting enough to help Tony stop thinking about Steve.

Tony sighed. There he was again, thinking about _Steve, Steve, Steve,_ when he’d promised himself not two minutes ago that he’d stop. Still, try as he might, it wasn’t easy. Everything around him reminded him of Steve, from the flowers on the table, which were the exact same shade of blue as Steve’s eyes, to the young man who’d just walked in, who looked amazingly similar to Steve. In fact, Tony thought, looking at him closer, this was an almost exact doppelgänger, down to the floppy blond hair, the little crinkles in his smile. Everything except for the beard.

And then the stranger sat himself down in front of Tony.

There was a brief moment of silence, when neither of them realized what was going on. Tony’s eyes widened in shock, as did the stranger’s, and Tony let out a strangled “ _Steve?_ ”

“Tony,” said Steve, quietly and wondrously, his eyes so wide Tony could see the twinkling of the lights in them. “How— what?”

“You’re ManWithAPlan,” said Tony, still shocked. It was a statement, not a question, and Steve chuckled slightly at that.

“Bucky’s idea,” he said before looking Tony over again. His intense gaze gave Tony the feeling he was being x-rayed. “This was not what I expected.”

“I don’t think either of us did,” said Tony. Now that the shock was wearing off, he felt a little bit more like himself. “Pepper and Rhodey are going to _kill_ me when I tell them that after all the work they did to help me get over you, I’m back here on a date with you.”

“I’m sorry,” said Steve immediately, and Tony mentally cursed himself. 

“Let’s not talk about it,” he said. “We’re not talking about anything that happened more than 24 hours ago. Please.” He frowned up at Steve. “Except the beard. That’s new.”

“Do you like it?” Steve asked shyly. “I, uh… let myself go a little bit. After we broke up.” He broke eye contact with Tony, staring awkwardly at the table in front of him. “Bucky helped me get my head on straight, but I kept the beard. I like it better.”

“It suits you,” Tony agreed, also not making eye contact. “So, uh… you didn’t do that well either, huh?”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it?” Steve asked, but he smiled at Tony. “I… I tried. But I couldn’t stop…” he took a deep breath “You broke up with me, Tony. That kind of stuff tends to hurt.”

“I didn’t—”

“”I know, I know, you did it for both of us, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt.” Steve looked up at Tony sadly. “And to be honest, Tony, I don’t think it was worth it.

“What?”

Steve just shrugged, and Tony remembered it then. The mysterious stranger’s profile, which had so clearly and blatantly stated that they were ambivalent about kids, and preferred not having them. “You’re joking.”

He looked Tony steadily in the eye. “I didn’t think I’d ever find anyone as perfect as you again, but hey, looked like my profile worked.”

“I thought that was your dream,” said Tony, a little desperately, but who could blame him? “You said—you said you wanted kids your whole life.”

“Until they cost me the best thing that’s ever come into my life,” said Steve fiercely, and really, Tony couldn't have done anything else other than kiss him.

‘Steve,” he said, panting as Steve kissed him back roughly, both men trying to make up for three months of no contact between them. “Are you… I don’t want you to regret this.” Steve pulled away from him then, holding Tony close and looking at him like he’d hung the moon.

“I’d never regret being with you, Tony.”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I need to rewrite this and make it worthy of a stocking present for you, Ven xD but I hope you like this stupid little thing anyway, and thank you for everything!


End file.
